Subject: MIRNEWS.396
From: "C.M. vd Berg" <[email-masked]>
To: Multiple recipients of list <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 30 Nov 1997 14:36:53 -0500

MIRNEWS.396                                  24 NOVEMBER 1997

Computerfailure:  On 21.11.97 at 2132UTC  MIR was hit by the umptieth
computerfailure. This happened to be  the computer which had been delivered
by   Shuttle Atlantis and installed during the combined flight of Atlantis
and MIR in September 1997.  In the night from 21 to 22.11 Solovyov and
Vinogradov were on duty and during every possible pass they discussed the
problems with TsUP.  On 22 and 23.11 a number of systems remained off to
reduce powerconsumption.  Again radiotraffic during some passes in the
night from 22 to 23.11.  
For the repair the crew used the 2d new computer which had been brought to
MIR by the freighter Progress-M36. On 24.11 the computer and other systems
worked flawlessly  which enabled the crew to work on the subsatellite
Inspektor, still on board Progress-M36. Inspektor will be launched from the
departing Progress-M36 on 17.12.97. 

Solidarnostj:

(Due to a failure of my own computer  -  solidarity of my PC with  the
colleague on board MIR? -  I could not distribute a MIR-report about the
failure of the Ts.V.M. on board MIR, so I passed this news on to  friends
in UK and the USA. They could not obtain additional information and for an 
official confirmation we had to wait until Monday 24.11.)

Altair-2:  This satellite is operational again after a period of
maintenance of the groundfacilities for this geostationary satellite.   On
21.11 there were good TV and phone communications during orbit  67167. 

>From traffic during this session could be derived that the EVA's which had
been scheduled for the beginning of December 1997 possibly  would be put
back until January 1998.  (Meanwhile this has been confirmed: the EVA's
take place on 5 and 9.01.1998)
This means that the repair of the antenna for the 145.985 mc will be
postponed also. 

Inspektor:

This week the crew will prepare the subsatellite Inspektor for an
inspection flight on 17.12.97.  During the departure of Pr-M36 the freigher
will jettison the Inspektor.  The Inspektor has to fly around the Pr-M36
for video images of that ship and after that the satellite will inspect the
outersurface of the MIR-complex. 

Chris van den  Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202